Looks could be deceiving

Photo taken of a poster at Raffles Hotel Singapore

“And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.

Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.” 1 Samuel 1:12-13

I was having coffee with a friend at the Conrad Hotel music lounge in Singapore years back when we noticed a woman in an elegant evening dress, seated alone at the bar, drinking. She wasn’t facing us. From her back, glass in one hand, we thought that she was probably lovelorn; or a woman of the night, waiting to be picked up. Minutes later, she rose, and sauntered straight to the piano, took her seat and began playing. She was the resident pianist!

My friend and I had a good laugh, and chided ourselves for being presumptuous. Presumption is often ground for misunderstanding or conflict. Even a priest could make errors in judgment as seen in the example of Eli who mistook the praying Hannah to be drunk.

Appearance could often be deceiving.